First Impressions
by Catflower Queen
Summary: We know how Paula and Laura of Team Rainbow reacted to everything... but how did everyone else react to them? Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.
1. Chapter 1: The Apprentices

**First Impressions**

**A Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of the Sky FanFiction by the Catflower Queen**

**Chapter 1: The Apprentices**

"Hey, hey! So what do you think of the new apprentices?" Corphish asked the assembled group. It was a nightly ritual for all the apprentices to hold a meeting in the evening, to talk about how their days had gone, exchange information, etc. Normally the room at the end of the hallway was empty and they would meet there, but since it was now occupied by the newest members of the guild they had decided to meet in the room shared by Corphish, Loudred, and Bidoof.

"Huh? New apprentices?" Bidoof asked in confusion.

"Those two kids who came in earlier. Remember? I nudged you to point them out," Sunflora reminded him.

"Oh!" Bidoof exclaimed. "Gosh, they're gonna be apprenticing here? Guess I won't be the newbie anymore!"

"True!" Chimecho said with a smile.

Sunflora put her leaves to her cheeks and squealed, "Oh my gosh! I think they're adorable!"

Loudred rolled his eyes. "Of COURSE you do."

"Well what did _you_ think of them?" Sunflora asked with a glare.

Dugtrio nodded. "Yes, after all, you _were_ the only one to talk to them."

"Urk!" Loudred blushed when the focus turned on him, but he quickly recovered. "W-well… the pikachu seemed very… nervous."

"Nervous?" Corphish asked with a frown. "Hey, hey, she didn't seem so nervous to me… she was chattering on endlessly when Chatot was showing her and her friend around…"

"Well, she was nervous earlier," Diglett interjected. "She's come to the guild multiple times before… but she's run away each time before Loudred could admit her."

"Meh heh heh… really? So what changed?" Croagunk asked.

"I don't know," Diglett admitted. "Maybe it had something to do with her friend."

"Hey, hey? What's _she_ like?" Corphish asked, curious.

Loudred was the one to answer him. "She didn't speak at ALL!" he stated. "She seemed really CONFUSED too. I had to tell her TWICE to get on the grate! And Diglett had TROUBLE identifying her footprint!"

"H-hey!" Diglett spluttered with indignation. "I already _told_ you! You don't often see treecko around these parts! Besides… she didn't really act like a treecko…"

"Gosh! What do you mean by that?" Bidoof asked.

Diglett shifted around. "Well… when she stepped up onto the grate… she was only standing on two legs."

"Why is that such a surprise?" Chimecho asked. "Treecko _usually_ stand on two legs when they aren't moving."

"But that's just it!" Diglett exclaimed. "She didn't walk onto the grate and _then_ stand up… she was _already_ upright when she walked onto the grate!"

"_What?"_ everyone asked in shock.

"Oh my gosh! Why would she do that?" Sunflora asked, puzzled.

"Maybe that's normal where she comes from?" Chimecho offered, not really believing it herself.

"NO WAY!" Loudred objected. "I've explored ALL over the place and I've NEVER seen any treecko walk like that!"

Dugtrio frowned. "That brings up an interesting point…"

"Oh?" Sunflora asked. "What is it?"

"Son," Dugtrio began, turning towards Diglett. "You said that the pikachu had been here multiple times before, yes?"

"That's right, Dad," Diglett affirmed.

"And today is the first time you have seen that treecko, correct?"

"Yeah…"

"And no one else here has ever seen her before?" Dugtrio asked, turning towards the crowd.

They all shook their heads.

"Is there a POINT to this?" Loudred asked in annoyance.

"I am just wondering… if the two are friends, why have we not seen the pair together before now?"

Everyone paused.

"Good point, Dugtrio," Croagunk said. Then he chuckled. "Meh heh heh… I guess that's why they were both acting that way…"

"What way?" Chimecho asked, cocking her head.

Croagunk turned to look at her and explained, "The two were acting as though they'd just met mere _hours_ ago."

Everyone was surprised, and Corphish blurted out, "Hey, hey! That _is_ odd!"

There was a silence as the assembled contemplated this.

"Well… I reckon that's a good sign," Bidoof finally said. Everyone turned to look at him with questioning gazes and he blushed before nervously continuing, "Oof… I mean… if those two just met each other today and they're already such great friends… it must mean that they're really friendly and kind and… and that we'll all get along well together."

Everyone blinked at the revelation before smiling.

"Oh my gosh, Bidoof! I bet you're right!"

"Hey, hey! Yeah! We'll probably be great friends!"

"Ooh… I hope that they're good at exploring!"

The excited chatter was quickly broken up when an irate Chatot burst into the room. "Squawk! What is going _on_ here?" he demanded. "It's late! You should all be in bed!"

"Eek! Sorry, Chatot!" Sunflora apologized. "We were just talking about the new apprentices! We're all super excited to meet them!"

Chatot sighed, "I understand that, but all this noise is going to keep them awake!"

"Golly! I didn't think of that…" Bidoof frowned.

"But, hey, hey! Before we all hit the hay… could you answer a question?" Corphish asked.

Chatot sighed again in exasperation before wearily asking, "What is it?"

"What are the new apprentices' names?"

Chatot smiled. "The pikachu is named Paula, and the treecko is Laura. Their team name is Team Rainbow."

"Team Rainbow, huh?" Croagunk rubbed his chin in thought. "Meh heh heh… I bet they'll make things interesting around here…"


	2. Chapter 2: Wigglytuff and Chatot

**Chapter 2: Wigglytuff and Chatot**

"Oh wow! We have two new friendly friends!" Wigglytuff happily sang as he danced around with his Perfect Apple.

"Squawk! Guildmaster, this is serious!" Chatot exclaimed, wings fluttering. "Those two… I'm not so certain that they're explorer material!"

"Oh, oh? Why not?" Wigglytuff asked, stopping his dance.

"Well, for one thing, they seem too… young," Chatot offered.

"Oh, is that all?" Wigglytuff asked. Then he laughed and started dancing again. "I began exploring when I was just an igglybuff! They'll be fine."

"Yes, but you were an exploration _prodigy_!" Chatot huffed in annoyance. "These two are just ordinary kids! Furthermore, that pikachu strikes me as being too… flighty."

Wigglytuff giggled. "Silly Chatot! Pikachu can't fly!"

Chatot's eye twitched in irritation. "What I mean to say, Guildmaster, is that she's too _timid_. She has come to the guild multiple times before but she's run scared every time before she could even be admitted!"

"But she stayed today! That means we can count on her when things get tough!" Wigglytuff insisted. "Maybe all she needed was a bit of encouragement from her friend!"

Chatot sighed. "That's another thing that worries me," he admitted.

"Oh, oh?"

"Even if you leave aside her choice of mobility, walking on two legs instead of four like every other treecko, she just seemed very… strange."

"What do you mean?"

Chatot fluttered his wings again. "For one thing… she was just too _quiet_. She spoke not one single word aside from telling you the team name."

Wigglytuff frowned. "So… you think she'll be unfriendly?" he asked with worry. Then he blinked and smiled. "Don't worry Chatot! I bet she was just shy!"

"No, no, no, Guildmaster! That's not it! It's not that she was shy or unfriendly. She seemed more confused than anything," he furrowed his brows.

"I know," Wigglytuff stated. "She looked like she had a lot on her mind… like she needed help."

"Squawk! What? You noticed that?" Chatot asked in surprise. "Why didn't you mention it?"

"Because, silly Chatot! Now that she's a member of the guild, we can help her!" Wigglytuff explained.

Chatot stared at him in disbelief before he slowly came to an epiphany. "…I suppose that's true," he grudgingly admitted.

"And her friend will also grow stronger with training!' Wigglytuff added happily.

"Of course. You're right as always, Guildmaster!" Chatot agreed with a smile.

"Don't you worry, Chatot! Paula and Laura will be just fine!"

"All right then," Chatot hummed, his eyes closed. "What would you like them to do tomorrow?"

There was no answer.

"Guildmaster?" Chatot asked again, opening his eyes. He saw the, unfortunately, familiar sight of Wigglytuff dancing around with his Perfect Apple and ignoring Chatot entirely.

Chatot sighed. "I suppose I'll find _something_ for them to do. Good night, Guildmaster!"

"Good night, Chatot!" Wigglytuff called as Chatot left the room.

"Still, it's an odd name choice," Chatot mused once he had left Wigglytuff's quarters. "_Team Rainbow_… I wonder where she came up with that."

Chatot contemplated that for a moment before the sound of raised voices broke him out of his ponderings. He growled in frustration and headed off towards the apprentices rooms, muttering, "Honestly! Don't they realize how _late_ it is? They'll be useless explorers tomorrow if they don't get some sleep!"


	3. Chapter 3: Drowzee

**Chapter 3: Drowzee**

"I had it all planned out, you know? I just needed to find someone small enough to fit through the hole at the peak of Mt. Bristle. When I saw that azurill, I thought I'd struck gold! You know what I mean?" Drowzee asked, turning to his buizel cell-mate. The buizel had his eyes closed, but he still nodded.

"Exactly! I heard him talking to his older brother about a missing item, so I came up with a plan to trick them into following me. I'd ditch the marill and lead the azurill to the mountain top. Great plan, right? But then I met those two…" Drowzee trailed off.

The buizel nodded, and Drowzee took it as encouragement to continue.

"They seemed to know the brothers, so I was a little worried that they'd suspect me of trickery, but they seemed pretty gullible," Drowzee paused and frowned. "Well, the pikachu did, at any rate," he corrected himself. "The treecko was… odd. When I told my story, the pikachu chattered about how great it was that I was helping, but her friend didn't say anything. They didn't strike me as being an exploration team… but I guess appearances are deceiving.

"Anyway, so the first part of my plan went off without a hitch: the azurill followed me to the top of the mountain. But things went sour when I tried to force him into the hole. I had to chase after him to prevent him from leaving… and then just when I had caught him again, that duo showed up! It scared me at first, but I relaxed when I saw that pikachu trembling. I figured that her fear meant that they were weak. But they weren't! They were strong! Looking back on it… that trembling was probably a ruse, wasn't it?"

The buizel nodded.

"I thought as much," Drowzee sighed. He shook his head. "So, yeah. Obviously they beat me, and then I ended up here."

The buizel nodded.

"Looking back on it… it was a really stupid idea. The look on that kid's face when I told him I had lied about seeing his lost item… it was awful," Drowzee admitted with shame. "How many other times have I hurt someone like that? I shudder to think." He smiled a little. "You know… in a way I'm _glad_ those two caught me. Being in this cell… it's really given me time to re-think the way I want to live my life."

The buizel nodded.

"But enough about me. What are you in for?" Drowzee asked.

The buizel nodded.

"Uh… hello? Are you listening to me?" Drowzee asked in annoyance. He went over to the buizel and shook his shoulder.

The buizel blinked open his eyes. He began to yawn and stretch, saying, "Man... that was a _great_ nap!"

Drowzee stared at him in disbelief. "Have you been asleep this whole time?" he demanded.

"Uh… I guess so," the buizel admitted. "Sorry, man. Did you say something?"

"Azurill? Mt. Bristle? Is any of this ringing any bells?" Drowzee asked, still unable to believe that the buizel had slept through his whole, heart-wrenching, epiphany-causing tale.

"Sorry, dude. I have no clue what you're talking about," the buizel said, shrugging his shoulders.

Drowzee stared.

"So… what are you in for?" the buizel asked.

Drowzee sighed shook his head. "It's nothing you'd be interested in hearing…" he muttered.

"Cool," the buizel said. Then he yawned. "I guess I'll get some more sleep, then."

Drowzee sighed again as his cell mate drifted off. He glanced at the ceiling. "I wonder how Team Rainbow's doing…"


End file.
